Delegation Tour Guide: Matt Clare
Delegation Leaders: Aileen Mattsen, Ashley Barker, Carol Kocher, Kerrie Bigham.
Delegation Members:

Map Courtesy of: maps.com

Various Photos:

Yes, 15 1/2 hours on a plane is a long time.
Over the Ocean

The Sydney Opera House
7/2/00: Sydney, Australia

Downtown Sydney, from the Harbor Cruise
7/2/00: Sydney, Australia

My Homestay Family: The Markerinks
7/3-5/00: Tamworth, Australia

Us girls at Red Canyon.
7/9/00: Mooloolaba, Australia

Making mer-people on the beach.
7/9/00: Mooloolaba, Australia

A roo!
7/16/00: Cairns, Australia

Me and a koala at Wild World.
7/16/00: Cairns, Australia

Day 2 • En route
En route to Sydney. A day is lost crossing the international date line.

Day 3 • Sydney
On arrival at Sydney airport, your People to People Delegation Manager and coach driver will welcome you. After a brief city orientation, visit the oldest existing Parliament House in Australia and learn about the New South Wales system of government. View Australia's famous Bondi Beach and the Gap - the entrance to Sydney Harbor. Then we will proceed to Watson's Bay for lunch. In the afternoon visit Stadium Australia, venue for the 2000 Olympic Games Athletics and the Olympic site at Homebush Bay before checking into our hotel. A chance to change your US dollars into Aussie money on arrival at the airport.

Day 4 • Sydney
Depart the hotel for a full-day exploration of Sydney, beginning with a group photo at Mrs. Macquarie's Chair, a large stone bench overlooking Sydney Harbor. Included in today's activities will be a visit to Costello's for a cutting and polishing demonstration of the opal - Australia's national gemstone. Later we will explore the magnificent halls of the world-famous Sydney Opera House. Enjoy an afternoon luncheon cruise on spectacular Sydney Harbor before taking a look at Australia's natural and sociological history at the Australian Museum. Enjoy dinner at Planet Hollywood with its fascinating movie memorabilia. Please wear comfortable walking shoes for your day in Sydney.

Day 5 • Coffs Harbour
Depart Sydney for Port Macquarie with a lunch stop at the riverside town of Taree. Continuing along the Pacific Highway we arrive at Coffs Harbour, home of the Big Banana, and famous for its surf beaches.

Day 6 • East Coast Homestay
Today we travel to meet our Australian host families. For the next two nights you’ll experience home life with an Australian family, enjoying their hospitality and engaging in the activities they have planned for us.

Day 7 • East Coast Homestay
Your homestay continues—be sure you get a chance to meet some people of the local neighborhood! Pack an overnight bag with warm jacket for your visit to Couran Cove.

Day 8 • Couran Cove
In the morning explore the local environment around Surfers Paradise before boarding a ferry to Couran Cove – an ecologically friendly resort with world-class sporting and leisure facilities. The only transportation on the island is by bicycle! You will be issued a bicycle to use for the duration of your stay. Go for a ride to the beach or learn about the delicate ecosystem existing in the world of worms!

Day 9 • Couran Cove
Enjoy a full day's activities at Couran Cove. Choose from many available activities, including bicycling, swimming and bushwalking, or simply relax on the shore!

Day 10 • Sunshine Coast
Departing Couran Cove we visit Underwaterworld, a marine complex featuring aquariums with a wide range of fish, and a walk through underwater tunnel, where you come face to face with huge sharks. Enjoy dinner this evening overlooking the Mooloolaba Marina.

Day 11 • Sunshine Coast
Today is a "Great Outdoors Experience." Spend half a day cruising the beaches in 4WD buses learning about the shifting sands and the shipwrecks littering the coasts. Enjoy lunch at Rainbow Beach, famous for its variety of coloured sands before visiting the resort town of Noosa.

Day 12 • Yeppoon
We depart the Sunshine Coast and travel north along the Bruce Highway to Rockhampton, located on the Tropic of Capricorn, and capital of Australia's beef industry. En route, we’ll have lunch with the students and teachers at Gin Gin Primary School. After checking into the resort this evening we take a walk on the wild side at the Koorana Crocodile Farm. In between courses we take flashlights and try to spot crocodiles lurking in the dark, murky waters. Look out for their shiny red eyes!

Day 13 • Yeppoon
Explore the resort's facilities before visiting Olsen's Capricorn Caves, well known for their unspoiled beauty and natural formations, including the famous "Cathedral Cave.” Tonight we relax at the hotel.

Day 14 • Airlie Beach
After breakfast depart for Airlie Beach, gateway to the 74 Whitsunday Islands named by Captain James Cook in 1770. We stop for lunch in Mackay, an important centre of the sugar cane industry in Australia before checking into our accommodation. Meet with a representative of OUCH (Order of Underwater Coral Heroes) who will brief you on the fascinating formation that is the world's largest living organism – the Great Barrier Reef.

Day 15 • Charters Towers Farmstay
Today we experience a complete change of scenery as we head inland to the real Australia! As an integral part of the People to People Student Ambassador Program we receive a civic welcome from a representative of the Burdekin Shire Council. After lunch we continue to our farmstay outside of the historic gold mining town of Charters Towers.

Day 16 • Charters Towers Farmstay
Enjoy a full day of activities in the Outback including bushwalking and wildlife spotting! Learn about life on an Australian cattle property with a local Australian family to guide you.

Day 17 • Cairns
Leaving the farm in the morning we enjoy an historical walking tour and educational visit in Charters Towers, where we’ll learn about the people and buildings which make up this important inland settlement. Try a traditional "Aussie Pie" for lunch before we travel back to the coast to Cairns, the most northerly point of our journey.

Day 18 • Cairns
This morning we visit the Tjapukai Aboriginal Cultural Theme Park for an introduction to Aboriginal culture and history. We then travel slowly up the Kuranda Range in the unique Skyrail gondolas before reaching the quaint and tropical village of Kuranda set deep in the rainforest. After lunch we visit Australia's unique fauna at Wildworld - cuddle a koala, get friendly with a snake, photograph the emus - they are all waiting for you. Finally, dinner is held at the Australian Woolshed where you can "kick up your heels" to Australian folk songs and engage in some bushdancing. Don't forget to pack your day bag for tomorrow - you will need sunscreen, hat, swimsuit and towel. An underwater camera will capture those magic moments on the Reef!

Day 19 • Cairns
Depart this morning for a full day excursion to the Great Barrier Reef, one of the greatest natural phenomena of the world and the only living thing visible from the Moon! Swim and snorkel among the colorful tropical fish and coral. There will also be semi-submersible boat rides and an underwater observatory.

Day 20 • Depart for U.S.
Time to pack your bags for the last time! Today we depart for the USA. Don’t forget to complete your evaluations and exchange Friendship Cards!